PTE guide
PTE templates
Every speaking, writing and listening template on EdKnot — each one verified against the same AI scoring engine that marks your practice.
By EdKnot Editorial Team · Published 22 August 2026 · Updated 23 August 2026
What a template is — and what it is not
A template is a sentence frame with slots for the question in front of you. Its job is to remove decisions under time pressure: with the structure settled in advance, your attention goes to the content that actually earns marks.
A fixed opening + [SLOTS FOR THIS QUESTION] + a fixed close.
The frame is settled before you sit down;
the [SLOTS] carry the real, question-specific content that scores.
Do
- Use templates where structure is scored — speaking and writing tasks with Content, Form and Fluency traits
- Fill every slot with question-specific detail
- Adapt the wording until it sounds like you
Don’t
- Reach for a template on accuracy tasks — Write From Dictation, Repeat Sentence and the reading tasks reward exactness, not framing
- Recite the frame as a script — examiners and scoring engines both discount answers where the frame is doing all the talking
Speaking templates
Speaking templates buy you fluency: a rehearsed frame keeps you talking in full sentences while you read values off a chart or recall a lecture. Each link goes to the task page, where the full template blocks sit alongside timing rules, scoring traits, and a worked example from the real question bank.
| Describe Image | Frames for charts, maps and processes — open with the topic, give real values, state the trend. Template → |
|---|---|
| Retell Lecture | Turn 90 seconds of notes into an ordered retelling that keeps the lecturer's main claim first. Template → |
| Respond to a Situation | Purpose plus specifics, in the register the situation demands. Template → · PTE Core version → |
| Summarize Group Discussion | The newest speaking task — cover every voice and attribute each position correctly. Template → |
Writing templates
Writing templates protect Form and Development marks: word limits, sentence rules, and paragraph structure are all scored mechanically, so a frame that satisfies them by construction removes the cheapest ways to lose points.
| Write Essay | A four-paragraph structure that forces a clear position and specific support in 200–300 words. Template → |
|---|---|
| Summarize Written Text | The one-sentence discipline — main idea plus qualifiers inside 75 words. Template → · PTE Core version → |
| Write Email | The PTE Core email task — cover every bullet in the prompt and match the formal or informal tone it asks for. Template → |
Listening templates
The listening section has one template-friendly task: Summarize Spoken Text. The rest of the section rewards accuracy — for those tasks the guides teach method (note-taking, elimination, keyword tracking) rather than sentence frames.
| Summarize Spoken Text | Notes into sentences — capture the speaker's claim, evidence and conclusion inside the word limit. Template → |
|---|---|
| Summarize Spoken Text (Core) | Stricter — twenty to thirty words, so every slot must earn its place. Template → |
| Write From Dictation | No template — scored one point per correct word into Listening and Writing; drill accuracy instead |
Practise the frame, not the folklore
Most templates circulating in forums and PDFs are copied between sites and never tested against a scoring engine — some predate scoring changes and the tasks added in August 2025. EdKnot's templates are checked against the same AI engine that marks your practice and update when scoring behaviour changes, so they stay current for the 2025 task list, including Respond to a Situation and Summarize Group Discussion.
- Drill one task at a time
Run the frame against several questions of the same type before moving on.
- Read the trait scores, not the total
The template should lift Form and Fluency while Content proves you adapted it.
- Rewrite the wording until it is yours
If Content lags while Fluency and Form are high, the frame is carrying too much and the slots too little.